Plouffe ties Twins record for doubles by third baseman

MINNEAPOLIS -- Trevor Plouffe has been a doubles machine this season, and he tied the club record for doubles by a third baseman in a single season with his 37th double on Sunday against the Tigers.

Plouffe picked up his record-tying double against reliever Phil Coke in the seventh inning of Sunday's 13-4 loss. It tied him with Corey Koskie, who had 37 doubles in both 2001 and '02, as Plouffe passed Gary Gaetti, who had 36 doubles in 1987.

Plouffe's 37 doubles also rank fourth in the Majors behind only Jonathan Lucroy's 43, Miguel Cabrera's 40 and Paul Goldschmidt's 39. His total leads the Twins by four, as shortstop Eduardo Escobar has 33.

Plouffe has 10 homers this season after hitting 14 last year and 24 in 2012, but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he believes the power is still there.

"I don't think he's trying not to hit home runs, I think he's just taking what they're giving him," Gardenhire said. "He's hitting the ball the other way and into the gaps. I think Trevor has been doing fine. He's in a race with Escobar for doubles. It's a big race between those two."

Gardenhire also praised Plouffe for improving his defense at third. Plouffe is faring well among advanced metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating, ranking seventh at his position in that stat, according to FanGraphs.com.

"He's done very well," Gardenhire said. "When he's catching the ball, his arm is more accurate than ever before. He's worked really hard on his defense and on the balls he's supposed to catch. He's been solid over there. But it's because of the hard work."

Pino headed to DL with minor elbow strain

MINNEAPOLIS -- Right-hander Yohan Pino underwent an MRI exam after feeling some elbow discomfort during his start in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, and he was diagnosed with a minor strain of his ulnar collateral ligament.

Pino came up as the club's 26th man on the roster for the twin bill and gave up four runs (one earned) over five innings to get his second career win. He was optioned back to Rochester after the game, but Pino reported that his elbow began to flare up during the third inning, and he will remain in Minnesota to be treated by the club's medical staff at Target Field.

He'll be placed on the Minor League disabled list instead of the Major League disabled list because he was technically sent back to Rochester after his start.

"They think it'll be two to four weeks before he's able to throw here," Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said. "But as the 26th man, he has to go back. It's a stipulation as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement he has to be DL'd at Rochester."

Pino was a candidate to return once rosters expand on Sept. 1 but could miss the rest of the season with the injury. Pino, 30, is 2-5 with a 5.07 ERA in 11 starts with the Twins this season. He also went 10-2 with a 2.47 ERA in 16 appearances, including nine starts at Rochester.

"He was tremendous in the Minor Leagues and handled himself up here," Antony said. "He competed and kept us in games."